“Planned Polarization” – The Way of History

How many times have we seen disparate groups living without conflict for generations who suddenly erupt into hostile factions? We have witnessed it in nigh every age and land at some time or other when intense polarization is ignited through politics, culture, race, religion, ideology, opinion, theory, and on and on. Have we observed that a recycling, prominent theme in the Book of Mormon was polarization for purposes of power, gain, glory, and domination?

Today, especially in this land of promise, we seem to have an explosive mix of them all. So as our 2024 Book of Mormon study course winds down, let us review a few insights from Hugh W. Nibley’s Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 4: Transcriptions of Lectures presented to an Honors Book of Mormon Class at Brigham Young University. (All square brackets are in Nibley’s text; bold emphasis is mine.)

... It’s always good guys against bad guys. You’ll always have them and you’ll always have equals against each other and never solve that terrible thing. I’ll give an example of how this works. In the fourth century St. Basil was writing about it. “In the confused political situation everybody wants to give orders, and nobody wants to take them. Men are willing to cooperate on anything only as the most effective means of crippling a common enemy, after which they turn against each other.”

This was in Antioch, too, remember, the city where [men wanted] everybody to be wiped out so they’d be the richest man left. The final survivor and undisputed Number One was Constantine the Great. He interrupted and made them stop fighting. But, to quote our own study on the subject, no sooner had Constantine removed his last civil and military opponents than the issue between the Christians and pagan subjects became acute.² He had to settle that, so he settled that He put the pagans in their place, and then the churchman started accusing each other of heresy in wild abandon. Then it had to be Arias against Athanasius. The whole Christian world was then split again. Then the emperor took sides, came down with one side, and removed the last heretic, and received the undying thanks from the church. The true believers were at each others’ throats as never before. So this is the way it goes.

Nowhere is this process more sharply brought into focus than with Moroni’s inserts in his father’s book on the supreme results of polarizing. This is a very important principle—that the two poles conceive an ever greater antipathy to each other the more they come to be alike. Everyone knows that like poles repel each other, and only opposite poles attract each other. Now we’re talking about right from the beginning. As soon as Trajan and Hadrian took over and took half of Asia, then the trouble began with the two worlds fighting each other. It’s very old, of course. It goes back much further than that. It goes back to the battle of Thermopylae and much older than that: it’s always been going on. The emperors of East and West were fighting each other, in this case the emperors of Rome and Asia. I have particularly Justinian and Chosroes in mind, both very powerful emperors of a revived empire. The emperors of Rome and Asia describe themselves in absolutely identical terms, while each accuses his rival of being nothing but a base forgery and depraved imitation of himself. This is not a real clash of ideologies at all, but only a rivalry of parties that are [motivated] by identical principles and have the same objectives. What they are both after is the Book of Mormon formula, power and gain. The secret of commanding loyalty on both sides was, of course, to play up the wickedness of the other. The empire of the fourth century, when Rome collapsed, was at its very strongest with the biggest army and everything else. The empire of the fourth century was the world of displaced persons, inevitably drawn toward the big city. ... To take the place of the old lost loyalty to hearth and homeland—the prisca fides, the primitive belief in fate—strong measures had to be taken. New super loyalty was needed to guarantee the permanence of the social order. Men were taught to declare allegiance to a super thing—a noble abstraction loosely designated as Romanitas, the binding cement which was carefully cultivated in hostility to barbarians. “We’re the Romans: they’re the barbarians.” Well it was the same with the Babylonians and the Moslems. It was ager pacatus and ager hosticus with the Romans; Dār al-Islām and Dār al-Harb with the Moslems.

You see, that’s being very strongly emphasized. You’re never going to come to an agreement with the Iranians or the Iraqis as long as they say Dār al-Harb. Islam means “to submit”; it means peace also. All those who have submitted are the real people. All outside are the Dār al-Harb. And they threaten us. They were always being threatened and that’s why the emperor expanded [the empire]. They couldn’t stand anyone beyond their borders threatening them. Remember the last line of the fourth eclogue that got Vergil made a saint: “The emperor must inevitably rule over a pacified earth. All the earth must be pacified under his rule according to the virtues of our virtuous ancestors.” We’re the virtuous people, and we must rule the earth because we’re the good guys (p. 273; Nibley's footnote 2 from The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Vol 8-Collected Works ..., 438).

... [this is quoting J.B. Bury] ...“To command loyalty became part of the public education policy. To the lessons of the schools, carefully supervised by the government was added a more aggressive policy of deliberately widening the gulf between the two worlds [planned polarization]. For centuries, barbarian and Roman east and west had been mingling on terms of the greatest intimacy, producing a borderline culture in which it was quite impossible to draw the line between one culture and the other. Priscus, who was sent back in the sixth century, remembers quite casually the presence of people from the West visiting relatives in the camps of the Asiatics. He notes the busy coming and going of merchants between the two worlds. He describes the kind hospitality shown him, a complete stranger, in the home of the Easterners. But with this he gives us the other side of the picture, the official side—the ubiquitous activity of spies and agents in Roman pay, the infusion into the very court of Attila of large sums of Roman money to corrupt and divide. The insane mounting conviction of the rulers of the two halves of the world, both barbarians, each that his was the divine calling to liberate the human race from the intolerable ambition of the other.” It still is going on today (p. 274).

So what should we do with all the latest “planned polarization” in our present world? On the same page as the above quote, Nibley references the counsel of the prophet Joseph — that we don’t accuse, aspire, contend, coerce; that we don’t react in kind to polarizing tactics; that we don’t resist evil with evil.¹ But how are we to understand this in light of other scriptures, such as

20 Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 18:20);

and the many instances of “speaking truth to power” found and / or counseled in scripture.² I believe that the prophet Joseph’s counsel is to be understood as: don’t falsely accuse³; don’t aspire to replace God's will with your own⁴; don’t contend against truth; don’t coerce to your or another’s will or ideas.

But what do we do when so much truth seems so elusive? This is the best I can think of in our flawed human condition —  propagandized, opinionated, and stiff-necked as we are.

• Pursue truth by prioritizing facts over feelings.
• Live with intent to receive its proofs.⁵
• Study the repeating patterns of history.
• Speak truth when moved upon by the Spirit.
• Refuse to live by coercion.
• Be awake (as commanded) to our awful situation.⁶
• Pray as Mormon counseled his son Moroni:

27 ... Behold, the pride of this nation ... hath proven their destruction except they should repent.
28 Pray for them,^[7] my son, that repentance may come unto them.
(Book of Mormon | Moroni 8:27–28).

• Above all, pray for our own awakening, awareness, repentance, discernment.

-------------------------------/
1. New Testament | Romans 12:17 ~ Recompense to no man evil for evil.
New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:15 ~ See that none render evil for evil unto any man;
New Testament | 1 Peter 3:9 ~ Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing;
New Testament | Matthew 5:39 ~ But I [Jesus] say unto you, That ye resist not evil [with evil]:
2. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/03/speaking-truth-to-power-new-testament.html
 https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2016/01/part-two-evil-speaking-discernment.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2023/10/respecting-obeying-authority-what-did.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2023/10/respecting-obeying-authority-what-of.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2023/10/when-to-disrespect-authority.html
3. (and since much of the time, we don’t have all the facts, we let those who have the facts step forward and if they don’t, we either pursue the facts in a lawful way, or, if necessary, pray for exposure of the facts, and wait on God to act.)
4. Old Testament | Isaiah 14:12-14
   12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
   13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
   14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:3-4
   3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
   4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
5. New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21
   21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
6. Book of Mormon | Ether 8:24-26
   24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.
   25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.
   26 Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved.
7. (those who accuse, aspire, contend, coerce)

How to Pray for Enemies: https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/03/what-how-to-pray-for-enemies.html

Confused About the “Lost Ten Tribes”? Part III

First in the Series: Confused About the Jews? Part I: Conflation¹
Second in the Series: Confused About Israel? Part 2: the Gathering?²

Part 3: Confused About the “Lost Ten Tribes”?
Speculations and opinions about the identity and / or location of the lost Ten Tribes are too numerous to review here, so I footnote³ a sampling of thoughts and opinions for those interested, with the observation that from God’s perspective, seemingly exclusive questions (such as: “Is it this? Is it that? or is it something else?) are sometimes answered with “It’s all of them⁴! In the case of the Ten Tribes, could it be all of them: some lost; some scattered; some assimilated; some distinct; some hidden; some here; some there?”

In this post I will just consider what the Prophet Joseph Smith reportedly said about the Lost Ten Tribes because what some believed and witnessed in the 1800s seems to have been discarded⁵ by many in this latter-day as being too fantastic. Here are several “fantastic” testimonies of one of the possibilities:

1. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WANDLE MACE (1809-1846)
Journal of Wandle Mace, typescript, HBLL
(As told to his wife, Rebecca E. Howell Mace)⁶

Chapter 7
I have listened to the Prophet Joseph in public, and in private, in sunshine and shower–as many others have done as he taught from the stand–At my own house, and at his ho[u]se, I have been familiar with him, from the time he escaped from prison in Missouri in 1839 until his martyrdom in 1844, and do know that no man could explain the scripture–throw them wide open to view, so plain that none could misunderstand their meaning–except he had been taught of God.

--- I have many times been pondering upon a subject, and seemed to come to a stand-still, not knowing how to gain farther information, relating to it, when upon going to meeting on the sabbath, the key would be touched by Joseph and the subject would be so plain I wondered why I had not seen it before.

I was in this situation in relation to the Ten lost tribes of Israel. I had read everything I could find relating to them. I had carefully studied the statistics of the Jews, and not withstanding they had been persecuted for hundreds of years, being murdered and driven, until they were now scattered all over the known world, yet they numbered several millions. I reasoned thus, had the `Ten Tribes’, suffered equal disaster, and they had increased in number, in the same ratio as the Jews, the would number nearly ten times as many–or nine times and a half as it is nine a half tribes instead of ten. If they have increased in this proportion, where is there habitable earth for this vast amount of people who are hidden from the rest of mankind? I could not see.

I was in this train of thought, unable to obtain further information from any source, when as usual on a Sunday morning, I took my skiff and crossed the river to Nauvoo, to attend meeting.

Joseph addressed the congregation, and as if for special benefit, touched upon this subject which opened a new field for reflection to me. His subject was: The “restitution of all things spoken of by all the Holy Prophets since the world began,” quoting the twenty first verse of the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

In the course of his remarks he spoke of the earth being divided at various times. He said, “When Enoch and his city was taken away, a portion of earth was taken and would again be restored. Also in the days of Peleg, the earth was divided, see Genesis 10th Chapter 25 verse.” He then referred to the `Ten Tribes’, saying, “You know a long time ago in the days of Shalmanezer King of Assyria when the Ten Tribes was taken away, and never been heard of since.” He said, “The earth will be restored as at the beginning, and the last taken away will be the first to return, for the last shall be first, and the first shall be last in all things.” He illustrated the return by saying.

“Some of you brethren have been coming up the river on a steamboat, and while seated at the table, the steamboat run against a snag which upset the table and scatter the dishes; so it will be when these portions of earth return. It will make the earth reel to and for `like a drunken man,’” quoting 24th chapter Isaiah 20th verse. When speaking of the return of the Ten Tribes, he said, “The mountains of ice shall flow down at their presence,” and a highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep.”

These remarks satisfied me, it was no longer necessary to hunt the place on this earth where the Ten Tribes were so long hidden, for the earth was divided and taken away, and will be the first to return, as it was the last taken away.

“He shall command the great deep, and it shall be driven back into the north countries, and the islands shall become one land.”

“And the land of Jerusalem and the land of Zion shall be turned back into their own place, and the earth shall be like as it was in the days before it was divided. See [D&C 133:21-24] Appendix. Doctrine & Covenants.

I will introduce a poem upon this subject, by Sister E. R. Snow, as it was published in the Millennial Star 1851, pg. 272 entitled

An Address to the Earth

Thou, earth, wast once a glorious sphere of noble magnitude,
And didst with majesty appear, among the worlds of God.
But thy dimensions have been torn asunder, piece by piece,
And each dismembered fragment borne abroad to distant space.
When Enoch could no longer stay amid corruption here,
Part of thyself was borne away to form another sphere.
That portion where his city stood He gained by right approved;
And nearer to the throne of God His planet upward moved.
And when the Lord saw fit to hide the “ten lost tribes” away,
Thou, earth, was severed to provide the orb on which they stay.
And thus, from time to time thy size has been diminished, till
Thou seemest the law of sacrifice created to fulfil.
The curse of God on man was placed: that curse thou didst partake,
And thou hast been by turns disgraced and honored for his sake.
The vilest wretches hell will claim now breathe thy atmosphere,
The noblest spirits heaven can name have been embodied here.
Jesus the Lord thy surface graced; He fell a sacrifice;
And now within thy cold embrace the martyred Joseph lies.
When Satan’s hosts are overcome, the martyred princely rare,
Will claim thee their celestial home thy royal dwelling place.
A “restitution” yet must come, that will to them restore,
By the grand law of worlds, thy sum of matter heretofore.
And thou, O earth, will leave the track thou hast been doomed to trace
The Gods with shouts will bring thee back to fill thy native place.⁶

2. A website titled NewRevelations.net⁷ has done extensive work in compiling other witnesses. Here is an account (from section 5) given by Homer Brown and Israel Call:

Homer Brown: "‘Then [Joseph Smith] added, ‘In consequence of this great portion [of the City of Enoch] being taken away, it naturally threw the earth out of balance. Now when it comes back, and also the planet on which the Lost Tribes are, the earth will receive its equilibrium and revolve as it naturally was in the very beginning.’

Israel Call: "Yes, my father, Anson Call, was a particular friend of the Prophet Joseph. I have heard him say on a number of occasions that the Prophet Joseph told him in company with others, that the Ten Tribes of Israel were on a portion of this earth that had been taken away."⁷

3. According to Phebe Carter Woodruff, JS [Joseph Smith] had similarly instructed the Saints in Nauvoo in summer 1840.

In a letter to her husband, Wilford Woodruff, Phebe stated that JS had “been advanceing new things to the church and publick of late says that this earth was the largest panat [planet] that ever was made and that there has been parts taken from it several times and at the time the 10 tribes were lost there was a part taken from it and that they would all come back and be joined to it again and that would be the realing to & fro like a drunken man &c &c.”
(Phebe Carter Woodruff, Montrose, Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, Liverpool, England, 2 July 1840, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL; see also Walker, Diary, 10 Mar. 1881, in Larson and Larson, Diary of Charles Lowell Walker, 540; and “Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” Juvenile Instructor, 1 June 1892, 344.)⁸

4. Compilation posted by exmocaptainmoroni⁹ OP•11y ago

More sources. I wish I knew where this pdf file I have came from, but I'm not sure.

Ten Lost Tribes Are On Another Planet Joseph Smith taught that the lost Ten Tribes were on another planet. He taught this to over a dozen individuals, including one of his wives, and several apostles:

Allen, Daniel 1872
Beck, James 1861
Brown, Benjamin 1924
Call, Anson 1924
Cannon, George Q. 1891
Dibble, Philo 1882/4,1906
Gates, Jacob 1881
Hamblin, Jacob ?
Mace, Wandle Before 1890
Pratt, Orson 1875
Richards, Franklin W. 1892
Rogers, Samuel After 1840?
Smith, Bathsheba 1892
Snow, Eliza R. 1881, 1931
Snow, Joseph 1889
Van Cott, John 1931
Young, Brigham 1867

President Young said he had heard Joseph say that the Ten Tribes of Israel were on a portion of land seperated from this Earth. (Wilford Woodruff Journal, September 8th, 1867.)

A portion of the North country containing the Ten Tribes may be separated from the Earth. (Wilford Woodruff Journal, September 25th, 1859.)

Joseph Smith said that the 2 Prophets who would Prophesy in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 years & a half, were Enoch & Elijah. Also the two wings north & South of our earth were inhabited. the north with the 9-1/2 tribes & the south wing by the People of Enochs City – this Earth when first created occupied a Position next to Kolob the highest in glory of all the Creations consequently on account of the high Position we once occupied we have fallen below all of the others in space–consequently our sufferings are greater–the greater the rise the greater will be the fall-when we are Redeemed we will be taken back again & Placed in our former Position. (James Beck Journal (Notebook) 1859-1865; October 8th 1861.)

I heard the Joseph the Prophet say that he had seen John the revelator and had a long conversation with him, whom told him that he John was their leader, prophet, priest, and king, and said that he was preparing that people to return and further said there is a mighty host of us. And Joseph further said that men might hunt for them but they could not find them for they were upon a portion of this planet that had been broken off and which was taken away. And the sea rushed in between Europe and America, and that when that piece returns there would be a great shake; the sea would then move to the north where it belonged in the morning of creation. (Daniel Allen, Minutes of the Parowan, Utah School of the Prophets, 17 August 1872.)

The Prophet Joseph once in my hearing advanced his opinion that the Ten Tribes were seperated from the Earth; or a portion of the Earth was by miracle broken off, and that in the latter-days it would be restored to Earth or be let down in the polar regions. Whether the Prophet founded his opinion upon revelation or whether it was a matter of mere speculation with him, I am unable to say. (Orson Pratt to John C. Hall, December 13th, 1875. [Elder Pratt however seemed to of been of the opinion that they resided on or in the North Pole.])

11 Feb 1881 – Some remarks were made by Sister Green stating that she heard Eliza Snow speak of the 9 and ½ lost tribes being on an orb and would eventually come back to their former place and we should know when they came by certain signs.

6 Mar 1881 – Brother Jacob Gates … Said he heard Joseph Smith say when he was at Bishop Partridge’s house in Far West, Missouri, concerning the ten lost tribes. “They are hid from us by land and air.” Said Bishop Partridge, “I guess they are by land and water,” in a doubting manner as if Joseph did not know what he was talking about. “Yes,” said Joseph, “by land and air; they are hid from us in such a manner and at such an angle that the astronomers cannot get their telescopes to bear on them from this Earth.”

10 Mar 1881 – At night paid Sister Eliza R. Snow a short visit and had some conversation with her on the dividing of the Earth. She told me that she heard the Prophet say that when the Ten Tribes were taken away the Lord cut the Earth in two, Joseph striking his left hand in the centre with the edge of his right to illustrate the idea, and that they were on an orb or planet by themselves, and when they return with the portion of this Earth that was taken away with them, the coming together of these two bodies or orbs would cause a shock and make the ‘Earth reel to and fro like a drunken man.’ She also stated that he said the Earth was now ninety times [percent?] smaller now than when first created or organized.

17 April 1898 – Attended Sunday school theological class. Brother Joseph Snow gave a very interesting lecture on the scattering and gathering of Israel. Said that the papyrus obtained by the Prophet Joseph Smith in connection with the Books of Moses and Abraham fond in the wrappings of the mummies gave an account of the ten lost tribes of Israel, their journeyings geographically to the land of the North country, a place where no man had ever set his foot before, also a diagram showing their present location (in space), also the city of Enoch. (Diary of Charles L. Walker.)

In the afternoon I go uptown and meet Lorin Woolley, with whom I converse for 2 or 3 hours. He told me of some of his experiences in the underground business, and confirmed some points of doctrine I had believed in. He agreed with me that the ten tribes are not on the earth, and moreover said that in reading George Q. Cannon’s Doctrine and Covenants, he had noted in the margin a statement to that effect, which had been made by the Prophet Joseph Smith. (George E. Woolley (his uncle) Journal, September 22, 1891.)

He [Franklin W. Richards] said that the ten tribes of Israel were separated from the earth – so Joseph Smith had said. (Rudger Clawson Diary, Book 10, p. 87 (referring to Richards, 3 Apr 1892 conference talk)

I heard him say, “Peradventure, the Ten Tribes were not on this globe, but a portion of earth had cleaved off with them and went flying into space, and when the time comes when the ‘earth reels to and fro like a drunken man and the stars from heaven fall,’ it would join on again.” Bathsheba W. Smith, Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith, The Juvenile Instructor 27:34, 1st June 1892.

Philo Dibble testified in May, 1884 that in 1882 in response to his asking the Prophet of the location of the Ten Tribes he was drawn a diagram showing the Earth with two spheres on either of its sides, one of which was supposed to be their residence. (His son Sidney and Matthew M. Dalton made sworn statements to this effect in January 1906.)⁹

I have not verified the source of all the above references, but my guess concerning the “Lost Ten Tribes” is that the evidence and witness supports in varying degrees that some are lost; some scattered; some assimilated; some distinct; some hidden; some here; some there. God knows.

--------------------------------------/
1. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/05/confused-about-jews-part-i-conflation.html
2. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/05/confused-about-israel-part-2-gathering.html
3. Lost Tribes
• https://thefairestgem.com/2020/08/12/the-prophet-joseph-smith-teaches-of-the-ten-lost-tribes/
• https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/enrichment-d?lang=eng
• http://www.newrevelations.net/wherearetentribes.html
• https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Question:_Did_Joseph_Smith_believe_that_the_lost_Ten_Tribes_were_living_under_the_polar_ice_cap%3F
• https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/the-ten-lost-tribes-a-world-history/
• http://www.mormonthink.com/QUOTES/losttribes.htm
• https://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/73501-where-are-the-lost-ten-tribes/
• http://www.newrevelations.net/wherearetentribes.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes
• https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1fzmwv/
joseph_smith_taught_multiple_followers_that_the/
• https://mormonbible.org/old-testament/old-testament-3/the-ten-lost-tribes
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel
• https://aish.com/the-search-for-the-ten-lost-tribes/
• https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27177/27177-h/27177-h.htm
• https://mormonmonsters.blogspot.com/2009/09/ten-tribes-live-on-another-planet.html
• https://rodolfovergara.com/are-the-ten-tribes-of-israel-on-another-planet/
• https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/israel/losttribes.html
• https://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/73501-where-are-the-lost-ten-tribes/
4. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2019/12/could-earth-be-square.html
5. https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Question:_Did_Joseph_Smith_believe_that_the_lost_Ten_Tribes_were_living_under_the_polar_ice_cap%3F

6. https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/history/wandle-mace/
https://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/7610
7. http://www.newrevelations.net/wherearetentribes.html
8. https://www.reddit.com/r/mormon/comments/17oloem/location_of_10_lost_tribes/ (Willy Pete)
Footnote 12 from https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-from-thomas-burdick-28-august-1840/2#12659479498828434175 (p. 175)
9. https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1fzmwv/joseph_smith_taught_multiple_followers_that_the/

Prophetic Kirtland? More Important Than We Know?

(Day of week calculator*)
(#-of-days-between calculator**)

Yesterday, I read two dedicatory prayers on the same evening¹: king Solomon's dedication² of the temple in Jerusalem that was completed circa  957 BC and Joseph Smith's dedication of the Kirtland Temple,³ completed in 1836 AD (about 2,793 years after Solomon's dedication), yet the spirit and beauty of the prayers seemed as one. The shapes of the temples seem similar to me as well – rectangular and boxy — so unlike many elaborate religious structures of the past and present, yet both temples (of Solomon and Kirtland) were built according to a pattern revealed by God.⁴ For some reason, God insisted on micro-managing the design and accessories of these two temples. Remember, also, the Tabernacle of Moses?⁵ Is there something important about shapes and measures? something that appears plain-ish on the outside but contains unexpected revelation within, like a geode? something the great Architect-Designer sees and knows about truth and beauty that we don't?

Solomon's Temple endured for about 370 years and served as a pivotal centre for the children of Israel until their division after Solomon's death (circa 931 BC) and then subsequent captivity of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC. Finally, about 587 BC, the temple built by Solomon was destroyed by the Babylonians. But as I ponder the two structures and dedicatory prayers, I wonder if there is some prophetic, pivotal measure about the Kirtland Temple that we have not recognized – which brings me directly to a 2008 post⁶ that I recently encountered, written by Mr. Watcher.⁷ I first referred to Mr. Watcher in my previous Déjà Vu Times II post of April 27, 2022.⁸

Mr. Watcher's 2008 post was subtitled: Daniel the Prophet and the Kirtland Temple. In my view, this post is so thought-provoking and potentially important to understanding some aspects of latter-day prophecy that it deserves a resurrected awareness; plus there is a possible element of God's evening-to-evening day as reviewed here.⁹

In short, Mr. Watcher's thesis is that the Kirtland Temple fulfills a portion of Daniel's prophecies concerning the 139 weeks of Daniel's end times instruction by Gabriel;¹⁰ and, in addition, may give us a marker for prophecy calculation. I cannot adequately condense Mr. Watcher's post, so please read it here.¹¹ But when you get to these paragraphs, remember God's evening-to-evening day. Mr. Watcher writes:

Once again I began with the date that Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to forgive their sins, accept the temple and usher in the various dispensational keys. I backed up 70 weeks from Sunday April 3rd 1836 to find the starting date of the seventy-week period. It is Sunday November 30th, 1834. I Began looking though the history of the church to see if anything of significance happened on that date that might involve Joseph and Oliver. The event according to Daniel would be essential in making a reconciliation for sins. Once again I was blown away at what I found. Here is what the Documentary History of the Church has to say about the prophecy on that date and the covenant that was made the day before. [His bold emphasis]

The Covenant of Tithing [consecration].

On the evening of the 29th of November, I united in prayer with Brother Oliver for the continuance of blessings. After giving thanks for the relief which the Lord had lately sent us by opening the hearts of the brethren from the east, to loan us $430; after commencing and rejoicing before the Lord on this occasion, we agreed to enter into the following covenant with the Lord, ... [His color emphasis]

Since the covenant Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery made with the Lord was on the evening of November 29, 1834, it would already be Sunday, November 30, 1834 (according to God's evening-to-evening day), being the beginning of the first week of the 70 weeks' count until the remarkable vision of Sunday, April 3, 1836 in the Kirtland Temple recorded in D&C 110 — making 490 days – not a day less, not a day more than 70 weeks ¹²

When it comes down to scripture and prophecy, God seems to be a God of déjà vu — of types and shadows, of double (plus?) and precise fulfillment. Thus, should we be paying more attention to our history? Should we be considering whether Kirtland may contain far more information and promise for our future than we realize?

Side-notes:
1. Mr. Watcher has many interesting ideas which I have not had time to process, so I am not endorsing all his writings or beliefs, but as the Apostle Paul advised:

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.¹³

2. As to Mr. Watcher's connecting of Kirtland to Jerusalem (per archetypes / “types and shadows”), here are Ohio map sources¹⁴ showing a Jerusalem Road passing north of Kirtland.

---------------------------------------------/
*https://www.dayoftheweek.org/
**https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/date-calculator

1. I was motivated to re-read Solomon's prayer after reading Philip Yancey's entry: “DAY 120 1 Kings 6: 1, 38; 8: 1– 34” in his Meet the Bible anthology. Yancey, Philip; Quinn, Brenda. Meet the Bible (p. 222). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
2. Old Testament | 1 Kings 6:1, 38 
   1 AND it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
   38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
Old Testament | 1 Kings 8:22-54 (no changes in JST)
3. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 109
4. Temple built by Solomon
Old Testament | 1 Chronicles 28:6-8, 11-21 (Bold emphasis added.)
   6 And he said unto me [David], Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.
   7 Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.
   8 Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good  land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. ...
    11 ¶ Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,
   12 And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things:
   13 Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD.
   14 He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service:
   15 Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick.
   16 And by weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver:
   17 Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver:
   18 And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
   19 All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.
   20 And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
   21 And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment.
Kirtland Temple
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 94:1-7 (Bold emphasis added.)
   1 AND again, verily I say unto you, my friends, a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall commence a work of laying out and preparing a beginning and foundation of the city of the stake of Zion, here in the land of Kirtland, beginning at my house.
   2 And behold, it must be done according to the pattern which I have given unto you.
   3 And let the first lot on the south be consecrated unto me for the building of a house for the presidency, for the work of the presidency, in obtaining revelations; and for the work of the ministry of the presidency, in all things pertaining to the church and kingdom.
   4 Verily I say unto you, that it shall be built fifty–five by sixty–five feet in the width thereof and in the length thereof, in the inner court.
   5 And there shall be a lower court and a higher court, according to the pattern which shall be given unto you hereafter.
   6 And it shall be dedicated unto the Lord from the foundation thereof, according to the order of the priesthood, according to the pattern which shall be given unto you hereafter.
   7 And it shall be wholly dedicated unto the Lord for the work of the presidency.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 97:10
   10 Verily I say unto you, that it is my will that a house should be built unto me in the land of Zion [Kirtland?], like unto the pattern which I have given you.
5. Old Testament | Exodus chapters 25-28
6. A Mystical Look at the LDS Restoration Movement by onewhoiswatching | Oct. 12, 2008 at https://ldsanarchy.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/a-mystical-look-at-the-lds-restoration-movement/ 

See also: #46 “O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the End…" Tuesday, October 14, 2008 | https://threewatches.blogspot.com/2008/10/46-o-daniel-shut-up-words-and-seal-book.html
7. https://threewatches.blogspot.com/
https://onewhoiswatching.wordpress.com/
8. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/04/prophesy-calculations-man-among-gentiles.html
9. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/04/gods-prophetic-day-evening-to-evening.html
10. Old Testament | Daniel 9:20-27
   20 ¶ And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
   21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
   22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
   23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
   24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
   25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
   26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
   27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
11. https://ldsanarchy.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/a-mystical-look-at-the-lds-restoration-movement/
12. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/date-calculator
13. New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_State_Route_2
https://www.mapquest.com/us/ohio/jerusalem-township-22578978 | showing Ohio SR 2 bearing the name Jerusalem Road south of Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge. SR 2 runs the full length of Ohio (W to E) near the lake shore and passes North of Kirtland. | Other maps showing Jerusalem Road:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12gycBIPGaR_fH84GAF_yL8RJSNHQIA2c/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19uvQXfMzbyMArzbTo9NoaJPf3teVpzHt/view
Other Jer-USA-lems in the USA:
https://geotargit.com/index.php?qcountry_code=US&qregion_code=OH&qcity=Jerusalem
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-usa-see-the-20-jerusalems-in-usa/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_biblical_place_names_in_North_America

Image Source:
Description: Mormon Temple at Kirtland
Drawn by Henry Howe 1846
Attribution: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
Permission: Public Domain
Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Historical_Collections_of_Ohio-_An_Encyclopedia_of_the_State;_History_Both_General_and_Local,_Geography_with_Descriptions_of_Its_Counties,_Cities_and_Villages,_Its_Agricultural,_Manufacturing,_Mining_(14586424199).jpg
File URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Historical_Collections_of_Ohio-_An_Encyclopedia_of_the_State%3B_History_Both_General_and_Local%2C_Geography_with_Descriptions_of_Its_Counties%2C_Cities_and_Villages%2C_Its_Agricultural%2C_Manufacturing%2C_Mining_%2814586424199%29.jpg

Testimonies of Descendants of Joseph & Emma

Joseph Smith, Jr.
Image info below

Further to my two previous posts:
      Conflation of Testimony?¹
      Staying? or Leaving?²

In these latter-days, as we process our own testimonies and witness of what is true, perhaps these experiences, testimonies, and witness of descendants of Joseph and Emma Smith might be of help:

      Gracia Jones Full Interview 1st part³
      Gracia Jones Full Interview 2nd Part⁴ 

      Joseph Smith Descendant Testimonies Kimberly Smith 6 27⁵

See additional resources below.⁶

Emma Hale Smith
Image info below

In light of these testimonies and witnesses,⁷ what should we make of the belief or claims that the Church was rejected years ago, along with its dead? Aren't we all under varying degrees of condemnation because of our propensity to go our own way, to think thoughts that oppose the Spirit of Truth; to confuse, assume, presume, fear, retaliate, mis-perceive, treat lightly, and on and on? The scriptures are full of stories of chosen leaders and followers who made mistakes or sinned, repeatedly — some repented, some did not; thus the continual necessity for the witness of the Holy Ghost in all things  — to be watchmen, not just of the course and claims of things and people, but of our own predispositions.

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1. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/04/conflation-of-testimony.html
2. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/03/staying-or-leaving.html
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGGw8lgh__0&t=954s
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkOJTQaRCe0&t=1199s
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAqW2AFUV4A&t=316s
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwezWHpMhrs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv25pFpKw9c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJFOV3Y39H8
Short Version of Descendant Joseph Smith Testimonies (Michael Kennedy | Feb 20, 2022 | Time 20:41 min.) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdUqumrgAJs
The Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society: https://www.josephsmithjr.org/
Michael kennedy's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/RogerAllanKennedy/videos
7. (and thousands of others throughout Church history by Temple workers, family history enthusiasts, and faith-filled saints receiving or acting upon similar dreams and visions)

Image Sources:
Joseph Smith Jr.
Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_smith.jpg
File URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Joseph_smith.jpg
Attribution: unknown painter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Discretion: Joseph Smith, Jr.
Source: http://www.helpingmormons.org/The_Prophets_Have_Spoken.htm
Permision: This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.

Emma Hale Smith:
Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EmmaSmith.jpg
File URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/EmmaSmith.jpg
Attribution: Lee Greene Richards (July 27, 1878 – February 20, 1950) Original Publisher and Copyright holder: LDS Church Archives (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Description: English: Emma Smith, wife married of Joseph Smith, Jr.. An early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, during Joseph Smith's lifetime and afterward as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, now the Community of Christ).
Date: before 1950
Source: Harold B. Lee Library, Digital Collections, Religious Education Image Archive: here. Courtesy of LDS Church Archives | Can also be viewed here including reference to authorship by Lee Greene Richards.
Author: Lee Greene Richards (July 27, 1878 – February 20, 1950)
Original Publisher and Copyright holder: LDS Church Archives (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Permission: See "Copyright Status/Owner" on page. Reads "Public Domain, Courtesy of LDS Church Archives".
This work has been released into the public domain by its copyright holder, LDS Church Archives. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: LDS Church Archives grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

The Proxy Question

Joseph Smith, Jr.*

Inasmuch as 2020 marks the 215th anniversary of Joseph Smith's birth, the 200th anniversary of the First Vision, the 190th anniversary of the organization of the Church, and the 180th anniversary of John Cook Bennett's arrival in Nauvoo, it seems a good time to raise this polygamy question:

“How many alleged marriages or alleged sealings to Joseph were done by proxy before his death?”

This seems a relevant and crucial question in light of:

SAN BERNARDINO, California,
December 31st, 1883.
Mrs. Mary Ralph being duly sworn, deposes and says: I lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, close to the house of Joseph Smith, just across the road, sometime. ... and I believe he was a true prophet of God. I was well acquainted with the two Partridge girls and the two Walker girls and their two brothers William and Lorin Walker, they were orphans, and all lived in the family of Joseph Smith, but I never knew they were any of them his wives; but I saw Susy [Lucy?] Walker in 1847 and she had a young baby in her arms,^[1] she told me she had been sealed to Joseph for eternity^[2] and to Heber C. Kimball for time, and Bro. Heber was acting proxy for Bro. Joseph. Dianthy [Diantha] Farr, daughter of Aaron Farr, told me she was sealed in the same way and W[m]. Clayton was acting proxy for Bro. Joseph with her. The first I ever heard of the proxy and sealing business was in 1846. Bathsheba Smith, wife of Geo. A., told me of it then.
MARY RALPH.
Sworn to before me this 31st day of December, 1883, W. J. Curtis, Notary Public in and for San Bernardino county, state of California.³ [Bold emphasis added.]

Of course the alleged Farr sealing could have been performed after Joseph's death as there seems no record of her as a plural wife, but could more proxy sealings like Lucy Walker's(?) have been possible during Joseph's life? This brings up the second crucial question: If there were such sealings, was Joseph aware of them? As far as we know he never wrote of them, and as to witnesses of alleged non-proxy marriages / sealings, how can we place full confidence in any of them with all the confusion of opinion, speculation, rumor-mongering, conflicting accounts, and motivated(?) memory (by both sides) that so plagued the early Church (even beyond the turn of the century)? And knowing our own memory failures, is it possible that years later someone could remember Joseph saying something promoting plural marriage when in fact it was something John Cook Bennett (or some other) had “shared” about what Joseph had allegedly said?

Perhaps the proxy question was explored by Joseph Smith III or others who interviewed some of the involved parties in later years, but so far in my readings, the above quote is the only reference I have come across about proxy sealings regarding Joseph and plural wives before his death. Has the proxy question been thoroughly researched?

I raise this for several reasons:

▪ What if admitted revisions of church records in 1845⁴ and beyond, also encompassed marriage / sealing records? Here is a classic, relevant, revision example⁵:

From Joseph Smith Papers: Document Transcript ~ Book 3, 15 July 1843–29 February 1844
[Red text indicates those words that were deleted when this was subsequently recorded in History of the Church Vol. 6:46]
5 October 1843 • Thursday
Thursday October 5. morning rode out with Esqr Butterfild [Justin Butterfield]. to farm &c.—— P.M rode on prairie to shew the Some brethren some land.— eve at home walked up and down st. with scribe.— and gave inst[r]uction to try those who were preaching teaching or preaching the doctrin of plurality of wives. on this Law. Joseph forbids it. and the practice ther[e]of— No man shall have but one wife229 [6 lines blank] [p. [117]]
[Accessed at https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/journal-december-1842-june-1844-book-3-15-july-1843-29-february-1844/1#full-transcript]⁶

From History of the Church, Vol 6
[Purple text indicates those words that were inserted when the above JS journal account was subsequently recorded in History of the Church 6:46]
Vol. 6: Page 46
Thursday, 5.—This morning I rode out with Esquire Butterfield to the farm.
Instructions Respecting Plurality of Wives.
In the afternoon, rode to the prairie to show some of the brethren some land. Evening, at home, and walked up and down the streets with my scribe. Gave instructions to try those persons who were preaching, teaching, or practicing the doctrine of plurality of wives: for, according to the law, I hold the keys of this power in the last days; for there is never but one on earth at a time on whom the power and its keys are conferred; and I have constantly said no man shall have but one wife at a time, unless the Lord directs otherwise.
[Accessed at https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/volume-6-chapter-2]

NOTE: the interpolations here could easily be understood as the very reverse of what Joseph's journal records (as in the “turning of things upside down”??)

▪ Wouldn't proxy have been the perfect cover for secrecy from Emma and the uninitiated, perhaps even from Joseph if those engaging in “spiritual wifery” wanted to foster the notion that “elite” relationships were sanctioned by Joseph but which he could not acknowledge? Would it not lend heavy-weight justification for secret agendas and actions?
▪ Considering the character of John Cook Bennett,⁷ the proxy concept would have been a (small g) “god-send,” not to mention the possibility of other secret polygamists subsequently inventing and recording marriages / sealings to lay a foundation for pending doctrine. And likely, even before Bennett arrived in Nauvoo, he would have heard the rampant polygamy rumors.
▪ Since memory is so susceptible to distortion, persuasion, and conflation could “witnesses” have subsequently conflated proxy with “in-person” when interviewers did not specifically ask?
▪ With the passage of time, how easy might it be to remember rumor as fact?
▪ The nature of most men and women to self-justify or mis-remember behaviors or beliefs when criticized or under pressure is well known; as is the déjà vu on déjà vu ploy where offenders accuse whistle-blowers or truth-tellers of what they, themselves, are doing.

There seems to be so much evidence supporting both sides in the Joseph Smith polygamy debate that it's unlikely we shall ever know the full truth, this side of the veil, especially with all the conjectures (including this post), and theories, assumptions, falsehoods, and alleged facts (public and private) that have flooded this matter.

Perhaps, in all the confusion, God's witness⁸ of Joseph's honor is the one that matters.

----------------/
1. 1st child of Lucy and Heber C. Kimball was Rachel Sylvia Kimball (28 January 1846 – 12 December 1847), so in 1847 she would have been just over one-year old.
2. The sealing was apparently May 1, 1843 per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Joseph_Smith%27s_wives https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Joseph_Smith%27s_wives (though Lucy's account on that site differs from Mary Ralph's report above.
3. Proxy Sealings quote: from Chapter 14 “William Smith Provided Further Insights into the Origin of Polygamy” from the book Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy, Vol. 2 at http://restorationbookstore.org/articles/nopoligamy/jsfp-vol2/2chp14.htm (Bold emphasis added.)
I first referenced this in a footnote (#10) of a Déjà Vu ~ Times II post (Dec. 15, 2015) entitled “Could it Be?” where I also reflected on the probable psychopathy of John Cook Bennett at https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2015/12/could-it-be.html.
Granted, the meaning of proxy here could be viewed / interpreted by some as similar to Levirate marriage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levirate_marriage . Farr is listed as a plural wife of Clayton, (married Jan. 9, 1845) but the conjoined phrase “proxy and sealing business” could lend itself more to one person standing in for another during a sealing ceremony and not as a marriage partner. [Update Jan. 22, 2020: However, I could be wrong. Yesterday, I came across Whitney Horning's references to Levirate marriage. This understanding might reconcile the Mary Ralph account with other accounts, but I believe the proxy question is still a valid one to pursue with all the conflicting accounts and proxy possibilities, especially with no record of Farr as a plural wife to Joseph.]
4. What Is Our Real History? at https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2019/10/what-is-our-real-history.html
5. References are thanks to Whitney Horning from Joseph Smith Revealed: A Faithful Telling: Exploring an Alternate Polygamy Narrative (p. 217). Kindle Edition.
6. NOTICE: how the practice of leaving blank lines after JS journal entries leaves room for additions at some future date without the ability to know for certain when or who added the entry and for what purpose. Of course it can serve a legitimate purpose, but also opens the way for illegitimate use. The 229 pullout in the JS journal quote relies not on the numerous words of Joseph wherein he states his unrelenting opposition to “plurality of wives,” but relies on the oft-belated, alleged witness of others, some of whom were already practitioners or soon-to-be-practitioners in violation of extant scripture: (1835 D&C Section CI [101] Marriage: p. 251) at https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835/1#full-transcript (Also see “one wife” at p. 192 and in the New Testament | 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6; Doctrine and Covenants | Section 49:16.)
7. I first encountered the FairMormon expositions on polygamy in this new year, January 2020. I do not agree with some of the assumptions, interpretations, and conclusions, but their information is worth considering and attempting to prove otherwise where suspect or based on assumption. None of these FairMormon posts have a date that I could find as to when they were researched or posted, but they confirm some of my thoughts on Bennett's character.
● https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Polygamy_book/John_C._Bennett/John_C._Bennett_Pr
● https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Polygamy_book#John_C._Bennett (draft chapters)ior_to_Nauvoo
● https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Joseph_Smith/Polygamy
Also see the Déjà Vu ~ Times II 2015 post about Bennett's probable psychopathy at https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2015/12/could-it-be.html
8. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 122:1-9 ~ Word of the Lord to Joseph Smith ~ March 1839
1 THE ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall rage against thee;
2 While the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from under thy hand.
3 And thy people shall never be turned against thee by the testimony of traitors.
4 And although their influence shall cast thee into trouble, and into bars and walls, thou shalt be had in honor; and but for a small moment and thy voice shall be more terrible in the midst of thine enemies than the fierce lion, because of thy righteousness; and thy God shall stand by thee forever and ever.
5 If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in perils by land or by sea;
6 If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can't you stay with us? O, my father, what are the men going to do with you? and if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb;
7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?
9 Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever. [Bold emphasis added.]
See also:
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 3:6-15
Could It Also Be?: https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2015/12/could-it-also-be.html
Ten-thousand [Malicious] Lies: https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2016/01/ten-thousand-malicious-lies.html (latter portion of the post.)

* Joseph Smith Painting source: By Unknown - Unknown, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1388993

What's in a Name?

Melchizedek?

1 THERE are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood.
2 Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest.
3 Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God.
4 But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood.
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 107:1-4, bold emphasis added.)

Mormon?

... I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation.--Before I give a definition, however, to the word, let me say that the Bible in its widest sense, means good; for the Savior says according to the gospel of John, "I am the good shepherd;" and it will not be beyond the common use of terms, to say that good is among the most important in use, and though known by various names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and is ever in opposition to "bad." We say from the Saxon, "good"; the Dane, "god"; the Goth, "goda"; the German, "gut"; the Dutch, "goed"; the Latin, "bonus"; the Greek, "kalos"; the Hebrew, "tob"; and the "Egyptian, "mon." Hence, with the addition of "more," or the contraction, "mor," we have the word "mormon"; which means, literally, "more good."
Yours,
JOSEPH SMITH.
(May 15, 1843.) T&S 4:194.¹

If Joseph is right about God being the superior interpreter of language (see full text below at footnote 1), then perhaps Mormon has more meaning than just as a nickname, even if often abused and maligned, though, there is probably no name more abused and maligned in this world than that of the Savior's.

In addition, we have seen in scriptural history how mortal names have been used to reference things that were clearly sourced in God or were substituted or shadowed for His name or the name of His Father, as in:

» The City of Enoch
» The Law of Moses
» Children of Israel
» Son of David²
» Son of Abraham³
» Aaronic Priesthood (Priesthood of Aaron)⁴
» Levitical Priesthood⁴

ON THE OTHER HAND ...⁵

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1. Full text:
Section Six 1843-44, p.300
Here then the subject is put to silence, for "none other people knoweth our language," therefore the Lord, and not man, had to interpret, after the people were all dead. And as Paul said, "the world by wisdom know not God," so the world by speculation are destitute of revelation; and as God in his superior wisdom, has always given his Saints, wherever he had any on the earth, the same spirit, and that spirit, as John says, is the true spirit of prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus. I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation.--Before I give a definition, however, to the word, let me say that the Bible in its widest sense, means good; for the Savior says according to the gospel of John, "I am the good shepherd;" and it will not be beyond the common use of terms, to say that good is among the most important in use, and though known by various names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and is ever in opposition to "bad." We say from the Saxon, "good"; the Dane, "god"; the Goth, "goda"; the German, "gut"; the Dutch, "goed"; the Latin, "bonus"; the Greek, "kalos"; the Hebrew, "tob"; and the "Egyptian, "mon." Hence, with the addition of "more," or the contraction, "mor," we have the word "mormon"; which means, literally, "more good."
Yours,
JOSEPH SMITH.
(May 15, 1843.) T&S 4:194. (Bold emphasis added.)
found at https://www.boap.org/LDS/Joseph-Smith/Teachings/T6.html (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1970, p. 300).
2. New Testament | Matthew1:1; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9, 15; 22:42; Mark 10:47-48; 12:35; Luke 18:38-39
3. New Testament | Matthew 1:1
4. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 107:1-4
5. On the Other Hand: Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 27:3-9 ~ And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter. And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing? Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day; And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day. Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake. And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses' name then it be Moses' church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel. Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name the Father will hear you;
New Testament | 1 Corinthians 1:12–13 ~ Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
New Testament | 1 Corinthians 3:21–23 ~ Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 76:98-101 ~ And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world; For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas.  These are they who say they are some of one and some of another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;  But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant.

As we can see, things are not always as cut-and-dried as most of us would like.

Discernment?*

A great (déjà vu) dilemma is how to discern what is evil-speaking, deception, guile, etc. and what is truth. Here is what Joseph Smith had to say:

TPJS:202 ~ It is evident from the Apostles' writings, that many false spirits existed in their day, and had "gone forth into the world," and that it needed intelligence which God alone could impart to detect false spirits, and to prove what spirits were of God. The world in general have been grossly ignorant in regard to this one thing, and why should they be otherwise—for "the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." ¶ The Egyptians were not able to discover the difference between the miracles of Moses and those of the magicians until they came to be tested together; and if Moses had not appeared in their midst, they would unquestionably have thought that the miracles of the magicians were performed through the mighty power of God, for they were great miracles that were performed by them—a supernatural agency was developed, and great power manifested.

TPJS: 203 ~ "Try the spirits," but what by? Are we to try them by the creeds of men? What preposterous folly—what sheer ignorance—what madness! Try the motions and actions of an eternal being (for I contend that all spirits are such) by a thing that was conceived in ignorance, and brought forth in folly—a cobweb of yesterday! Angels would hide their faces, and devils would be ashamed and insulted, and would say, "Paul we know, and Jesus we know, but who are ye?" Let each man of society make a creed and try evil spirits by it, and the devil would shake his sides; it is all that he would ask—all that he would desire. Yet many of them do this, and hence "many spirits are abroad in the world."

TPJS: 203 ~ One great evil is, that men are ignorant of the nature of spirits; their power, laws, government, intelligence, etc., and imagine that when there is anything like power, revelation, or vision manifested, that it must be of God.

TPJS: 204-205 ~ Every one of these professes to be competent to try his neighbor's spirit, but no one can try his own, and what is the reason? Because they have not a key to unlock, no rule wherewith to measure, and no criterion whereby they can test it. Could any one tell the length, breadth or height of a building without a rule? Test the quality of metals without a criterion, or point out the movements of the planetary systems, without a knowledge of astronomy? Certainly not; and if such ignorance as this is manifested about a spirit of this kind, who can describe an angel of light? If Satan should appear as one in glory, who can tell his color, his signs, his appearance, his glory, or what is the manner of his manifestation? Who can detect the spirit of the French prophets with their revelations and their visions, and power of manifestations? Or who can point out the spirit of the Irvingites, with their apostles and prophets, and visions and tongues, and interpretations, etc. Or who can drag into daylight and develop the hidden mysteries of the false spirits that so frequently are made manifest among the Latter-day Saints? We answer that no man can do this without the Priesthood, and having a knowledge of the laws by which spirits are governed; for as no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God, so no man knows the spirit of the devil, and his power and influence, but by possessing intelligence which is more than human, and having unfolded through the medium of the Priesthood the mysterious operations of his devices; without knowing the angelic form, the sanctified look and gesture, and the zeal that is frequently manifested by him for the glory of God, together with the prophetic spirit, the gracious influence, the godly appearance, and the holy garb, which are so characteristic of his proceedings and his mysterious windings.

TPJS:205 ~ A man must have the discerning of spirits before he can drag into daylight this hellish influence and unfold it unto the world in all its soul-destroying, diabolical, and horrid colors; for nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the Spirit of God. Thousands have felt the influence of its terrible power and baneful effects. Long pilgrimages have been undertaken, penances endured, and pain, misery and ruin have followed in their train; nations have been convulsed, kingdoms overthrown, provinces laid waste, and blood, carnage and desolation are habiliments in which it has been clothed.

TPJS: 205-206 ~ As we have noticed before, the great difficulty lies in the ignorance of the nature of spirits, of the laws by which they are governed, and the signs by which they may be known; if it requires the Spirit of God to know the things of God; and the spirit of the devil can only be unmasked through that medium, then it follows as a natural consequence that unless some person or persons have a communication, or revelation from God, unfolding to them the operation of the spirit, they must eternally remain ignorant of these principles; for I contend that if one man cannot understand these things but by the Spirit of God, ten thousand men cannot; it is alike out of the reach of the wisdom of the learned, the tongue of the eloquent, the power of the mighty. And we shall at last have to come to this conclusion, whatever we may think of revelation, that without it we can neither know nor understand anything of God, or the devil; and however unwilling the world may be to acknowledge this principle, it is evident from the multifarious creeds and notions concerning this matter that they understand nothing of this principle, and it is equally as plain that without a divine communication they must remain in ignorance. The world always mistook false prophets for true ones, and those that were sent of God, they considered to be false prophets, and hence they killed, stoned, punished and imprisoned the true prophets, and these had to hide themselves "in deserts and dens, and caves of the earth," and though the most honorable men of the earth, they banished them from their society as vagabonds, whilst they cherished, honored and supported knaves, vagabonds, hypocrites, impostors, and the basest of men.

TPJS: 206-207 ~ A man must have the discerning of spirits, as we before stated, to understand these things, and how is he to obtain this gift if there are no gifts of the Spirit? And how can these gifts be obtained without revelation? "Christ ascended into heaven, and gave gifts to men; and He gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers." And how were Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists chosen? By prophecy (revelation) and by laying on of hands—by a divine communication, and a divinely appointed ordinance—through the medium of the Priesthood, organized according to the order of God, by divine appointment. The Apostles in ancient times held the keys of this Priesthood—of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, and consequently were enabled to unlock and unravel all things pertaining to the government of the Church, the welfare of society, the future destiny of men, and the agency, power and influence of spirits; for they could control them at pleasure, bid them depart in the name of Jesus, and detect their mischievous and mysterious operations when trying to palm themselves upon the Church in a religious garb, and militate against the interest of the Church and spread of truth. We read that they "cast out devils in the name of Jesus," and when a woman possessing the spirit of divination, cried before Paul and Silas, "these are the servants of the Most High God that show unto us the way of salvation," they detected the spirit. And although she spake favorably of them, Paul commanded the spirit to come out of her, and saved themselves from the opprobrium that might have been heaped upon their heads, through an alliance with her, in the development of her wicked principles, which they certainly would have been charged with, if they had not rebuked the evil spirit.

Can we learn something of wisdom and caution from these words? how subtle deception can be? how the adversary's chief game seems to be imitation (with a twist)?—a perfect recipe for confusion and deception.

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*Partial repost of footnote 11 at http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2016/01/part-one-evil-speaking-discernment.html; and footnote 21 at http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2016/01/part-two-evil-speaking-discernment.html
TPJS = Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976]